The Origin Of Sequels: Another Rayman, Maybe

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I’m currently in the middle of a gentle altercation with other meejaa types on Twitter about my earlier worrying around posting about Kickstarted games that don’t exist yet, and one of the things that’s come up is that due to our by and large consisting of curated content (yeah, we are sometimes guilty of posting about Today’s Big News, but that’s because we do genuinely want to be part of the conversation even if the games in question aren’t always to our tastes), most any even vaguely positive RPS post could well be read as an endorsement. Even when it’s about something we haven’t played yet – case in post, an alleged sequel to the lovely Rayman: Origins.

Even though the extent of my experience of this game itself is some leaked screenshots and details, I am posting about it with some excitement. This could, in some form, at some point, contribute to someone’s decision as to whether spend money on that game or not. Or very well may not. But it might. How does that differ from posting about any old Kickstarter project that sounds good on paper?

Well, pedigree for one. I know Rayman: Origins the first was a good time. Therefore I have a reasonable amount of faith that another could be. I also believe that, if a publisher greenlights a title, the chances are fair to high that it will come to bear and have a decent budget. No matter how much talk a Kickstarter project from a lesser or unknown dev talks, there are far fewer guarantees. Anyway, enough soul-searching – here’s what is known about the game I feel compelled to call Rayman: Apples.

Not much, really. But then the nature of the first Origins tells us plenty anyway – deliriously happy and inventive 2D platforming. The next one, if it happens – not a given, as this is based on leaked images to Kotaku – will move from the dreamy surrealism of Origins to more of a myth’n’fantasy setting. Is that to make it more mainstream-friendly or just because the devs fancy mucking around with dungeons and dragons? We’ll find out, if this is real. Which is hard to say right now – the images came via a survey firm that counts Ubisoft among its clients, but could be mock-ups or pure theoreticals.

I like the concept, though. Seeing how the mad minds behind Oranges might twist fantasy staples is appealing. Plus, y’know, joyful jumping does a whole lot more for me than grimdark manshooting these days. I think I might be regressing.

The big difference between talking about something like this and a Kickstarter, is with a Kickstarter you are asked to pay now and may not get anything, and there is some time pressure involved. With just a regular prerelease game, even if I pre-order I can usually cancel any time before it comes out and not lose anything. And if there is some pre-order bonus that I want, I can also pre-oder the day before it’s released to get it, once journalists have at least had a real preview crack at it.

I do want to hear about neat Kickstarters though, as long as you are up-front about why they are neat (pedigree, awesome concept, reviving an unpublishable genre, etc).

I will shit my pants if they make a sequel. Not only was Oranges my favorite game of 2011, but it was probably among my favorite games of several years, having sunk far over 100 hours into it since I bought it. Me and my girlfriend truly milked the game for all its value. I bought it for the full 60 bucks and I still don’t think I’ve made a better purchase in the last few years. I will pre-order a sequel in a heartbeat, no matter the price.

Haha said it better than I did. For anyone, this game is a must buy. Never played platformers in my life before but this game is just so completely mad it’s a joy from start to however far I am through it.

I have to say that this seems like quite a patronising dilemma you’ve found yourself in. ‘Oh no, if I offer a positive view on something, my slightly retarded readers they will all run off throwing money at it with no thought of the consequences’. I would personally like to think that RPS readers are more than capable of making an intelligent and balanced decision about what to spend their hard earned money on. (Although I haven’t actually met any other RPS readers so I’m not sure what I’m basing this opinion on.) I think you worry too much.

You giving attention to a Kickstarter (or any other project) just sounds like it’s something you’re interested in, nothing more. Every time you’ve posted about one I’ve read it and made my own decision about if I’m going to give money or not (and it’s been not in almost every case except Doublefine’s). It’s not that I’m not interested in buying and playing the resulting game if it comes out and is any good, often I am, I just don’t feel the need to be an investor on the project.

That’s my decision and it’s freely made and not influenced by your article. If I read the article and decided to pay it wouldn’t be because you “endorsed” it, but because you told me it existed and I thought it sounded exciting and deserving of my cash. The only thing you need to worry about is balanced (unless its an opinion piece, but then you often present the counter opinion as well) and informative journalism, commentary and criticism, and you guys are already nailing that.